by Joan Jonker
‘Is that all that’s stopping yer?’ Relief could be seen on Alec’s handsome face. ‘Blimey, I thought something terrible had happened.’
‘No, of course not. It’s just that I won’t be able to come out with yer. I was looking forward to goin’ to the dance as well. But I couldn’t resist the underskirt I saw in the shop window. It’s beautiful – all pink and lacy.’
Alec grinned. ‘I’ll give yer the tuppence tram fare.’
As Sadie shook her head, she asked herself how much lying she was going to have to do before she could get away from the house of horror in which she lived. ‘No, I couldn’t take money off yer.’
‘Don’t be daft! If I was pickin’ yer up from home I’d have to pay yer fare, so what difference does it make?’ Alec was thinking of the pink lace underskirt: he intended to catch more than a glimpse of it. ‘I want yer to come, Sadie, please?’
She pretended to consider the offer. ‘Oh, all right, as long as yer don’t think I’m cheap takin’ money off yer.’
‘Of course I don’t!’ Alec slipped a hand into the pocket of his navy-blue overalls. ‘Here, I’ve got tuppence on me. Take it now in case I don’t see yer in the morning.’
Sadie took the two coins. ‘I could pay yer back next week.’
‘I wouldn’t take it off yer, Sadie, so forget it. Just be on time tomorrow night, eh?’
‘I’ll be there.’ Sadie ran off to catch up with her friend. She hated herself for what she’d done, but part of her was pleased that she’d been able to carry it off. The two coins in her pocket were the start of her bid for freedom. And she knew in her heart that Alec would get his tuppence back in kisses and unwanted caresses.
Sadie sighed as she caught up with Brenda near the chip shop. She was selling herself, whichever way you looked at it, which is what a prostitute did. But a prostitute sold more than kisses and fondling; she sold her body. And Sadie was determined she would never do that.
‘Hello, girl!’ Mary Ann waved as Sadie approached. ‘What with the sun shinin’ and bringin’ out the customers, and your smile, what more could a woman ask for?’
‘I’ll give yer a hand, shall I?’ Sadie hid her handbag in the box under the counter. There was a smile on her face, but not in her heart. She’d had a blazing row at home before she’d left because her mam wouldn’t give her any extra pocket money. Her wage packet had contained ninepence more than usual because of her rise, but her mother refused point blank to give her a penny more than the usual shilling. She wouldn’t even promise an increase when their Dot started work, which angered Sadie even more.
‘Here yer are, girl, how much is this?’
Sadie walked across to the old lady called Sarah – the one she’d told Mary Ann she felt like kissing and cuddling. And Sadie was more in need of a cuddle now than she’d ever been. But seeing as how the possibility of her getting one was remote, she decided the next best thing was to give someone else a cuddle. And Sarah was perfect for it. The old lady was surprised when Sadie leaned across the stack of clothes, cupped her wrinkled face in her hands and kissed her on either cheek. Then a smile appeared. ‘I don’t know what that was for, girl, but it’s a long time since anybody kissed me and I enjoyed it.’
‘Not as much as I did.’ Sadie took the vest old Sarah was holding and gave it a quick glance. It was in good condition and Mary Ann’s rule of thumb – tuppence with a hole, thruppence without a hole – came into her mind, but she quickly brushed it aside. ‘Is tuppence all right by you, Sarah?’
She was rewarded with a big smile and a wink as Sarah opened her clenched fist to reveal the two pennies nestling in the palm. ‘How about that, eh, girl? Yer must be a mind-reader.’
‘I’ll get a smacked backside off Mary Ann,’ Sadie told her. ‘But I don’t mind that. It’s a kick in the teeth I object to.’
Sadie carried the coppers across to Mary Ann. ‘I’ve got a confession to make. I sold old Sarah a vest for tuppence and it had no hole in.’
The stall-holder looked stern. ‘That’s me bleedin’ Sunday roast dinner yer’ve given away. I don’t know, I’ll never be a rich woman the rate yer goin’ on. Another couple like Sarah and yer’ll have me in the workhouse in Belmont Road.’
‘Oh, stop yer moanin’, Hard-Hearted Hannah, I’ll put the penny in meself.’
Mary Ann grinned. ‘When yer’ve been coming a bit longer, girl, yer’ll be up to all their tricks. For instance, old Sarah never pays more than tuppence for anything – it’s all the money she brings out with her! But I don’t mind with Sarah – there’s only her and her old man and they’re as poor as church mice. But some of the others that come with hard luck stories are in the pub every night knockin’ the ale back, and the money’s better in my pocket than theirs.’
‘Just like my father.’ Even saying the word ‘father’ stuck in Sadie’s throat. ‘He’s in the pub every night without fail.’
Mary Ann saw one of her regulars. ‘Hi, there, Nellie, what can I do yer for today?’
‘I’m after a nightdress for our Mary’s girl, Ruby. The one she’s wearin’ is falling off her back.’
‘How old is she now – about six, isn’t she?’ Mary Ann walked to one of the side tables. ‘I’m sure I’ve seen a couple in this lot so come and have a root.’
Nellie pushed her way through the crowd. ‘Our Mary’s feller’s out of work and they’re living from hand to mouth, so muggins here promised the kid I’d get her one.’
‘Well, have a root through that lot while I serve Moaning Minnie over there.’
‘Eh, Buggerlugs, I heard that.’ A tall woman with a huge bust and round red face shook a fist. ‘I’ve a good mind to come over there and land yer a fourpenny one.’
‘Wouldn’t do yer no good to come over here, Elsie, ’cos although yer might be bigger than me I can run faster.’
‘Are you hinsinuatin’ that I’m fat, Mary Ann? ’Cos if yer are I’ll break yer bleedin’ neck for yer.’
‘Now as if I’d say that.’ Mary Ann looked suitably surprised. ‘Pleasantly plump, perhaps, or of ample proportions, but fat? Never!’
Elsie mulled it over for a while. ‘Pleasantly plump’ sounded quite nice, even attractive. And ‘ample proportions’ didn’t sound too bad either. In fact, if yer looked at it the right way, the stall-holder was paying her a compliment. So her face creased in a smile, sending the chubby cheeks upwards to cover her eyes. ‘I’ll let yer off this time, Mary Ann, but only if yer’ve got a nice blouse for me. My feller’s takin’ me to the pictures tonight an’ I want to look me best.’
Mary Ann spread her arms wide. ‘If yer can’t find anythin’ to suit yer in this lot, Elsie, then all I can say is, yer bleedin’ hard to please. But I’ll give yer the services of me assistant to help yer, an’ I can’t be fairer than that, now can I?’
‘I’ll be glad to help,’ Sadie said, ‘’cos I can look for something for meself at the same time.’
Mary Ann eyed her fondly. ‘What are yer after now, girl?’
‘Something I don’t think I’ll find, but there’s no harm in trying.’
‘If yer tell me I might be able to help.’
Sadie leaned closer and whispered, ‘Don’t laugh, but I’m after a pink underskirt with lace on it.’
‘Don’t bother lookin’ on the stalls, just have a peep in the box under the table.’ Mary Ann smiled as she patted her cheek. ‘It could be your lucky day.’
Sadie went to work with a vengeance, eager to get Elsie fixed up with a blouse so she could get to that magical box under the table. She knew Alec would ask if she had her new underskirt on – that sort of thing would be right up his street – and she wanted to be able to lift her skirt a little to show him. After a lot of delving, she came up with three blouses for Elsie to choose from.
‘The three of them are nice, Elsie, and all of them would suit yer. But this one,’ she held up a pale blue silk blouse with pearl buttons down the front and ragamuffin sleeves, ‘is dearer than the others because i
t’s pure silk.’ It wouldn’t have been Sadie’s choice but the woman looked as though she liked showy clothes.
Elsie eyed it with suspicion. ‘Are yer sure it’s pure silk?’
‘Of course I’m sure! Feel it for yerself.’
Elsie fingered the material and looked as though she knew what she was doing, when in actual fact she’d never felt pure silk before. But she wasn’t about to say so. ‘Yeah, it’s pure silk all right. How much is it?’
‘It’s sixpence that one, but if it’s too much the other two are quite nice and they’re only thruppence each.’
Elsie dithered. There was pride involved here, loss of face if she said she couldn’t afford it. And think how she could show off with a pure silk blouse! She didn’t have to tell her neighbours that she got it from the market; as far as they were concerned, she got it from George Henry Lees. ‘I’ll have the pure silk, I’ve taken a fancy to it.’
Mary Ann took a fit of laughter when Sadie passed the sixpence over. ‘Yer never got that out of Elsie? Well, wonders will never cease! The miserable cow always haggles over the price with me.’
‘Ah, but you never sold her a pure silk blouse, did yer?’
Mary Ann’s laughter grew. ‘No, girl, an’ neither did you!’
Sadie’s mouth gaped. ‘Yer mean it wasn’t pure silk?’
‘Was it heckerslike! But don’t let it worry yer, girl, it was her own bleedin’ fault for lettin’ yer talk her into it.’ The stall-holder was shaking with laughter as she walked away to serve a customer. ‘Made my bleedin’ day, that has.’
Sadie made straight for the box under the table. She was in such a hurry she missed the glimpse of pale pink and disappointment was beginning to set in. It was during her second search she found it – just what she’d hoped for. Pale pink with white lace around the hem. It was creased and obviously not new, but no one was going to get that close an inspection. She carried it over to Mary Ann. ‘Yer must be me guardian angel ’cos yer’ve always got exactly what I want.’
‘Some angel I am, girl, with the mouth on me! Anyway, that came in yesterday with a stack of other stuff an’ I thought of yer right away. It’s got no holes in but I’ll let yer have it for tuppence, seeing as how yer pulled a fast one on Elsie.’
‘Oh, I didn’t do it on purpose. I honestly thought it was pure silk.’
‘It’s to be hoped her neighbours are as ignorant as you, love, otherwise she’ll be down next week with a rollin’ pin.’
Sadie grinned. ‘I’ll stand behind you and say you were the one what told me the price.’
‘Yer won’t stand behind me, girl, ’cos if I see her comin’ I’ll be leggin’ it down Scottie Road as if the devil himself was on me heels. I only argue with people smaller than meself, not someone who’s built like bleedin’ Man Mountain.’
‘I couldn’t imagine you being frightened of anyone.’
‘There’s a few I wouldn’t tangle with, sunshine, and Elsie is one of them. I’ve seen her fell a man with one blow, just because he picked up something on the stall she had her eye on and he wouldn’t part with it.’
‘Did she get it in the end?’
Mary Ann shook her head. ‘No, she couldn’t part him from it. What she did part him from, though, was one of his front teeth.’
Sadie jerked her head. ‘Yer pulling me leg.’
‘If I never move from here, girl, that is the gospel truth. Right in front of me stall it was, an’ I thought to meself, Aye aye, Mary Ann, watch out for her in future. Never try an’ sell her anything for thruppence that’s got a hole in.’
‘You’re a case, you are,’ Sadie said. ‘I never know when yer having me on.’
Mary Ann waved to a woman who was calling her over. ‘Hang on a minute, Gertie, there’s a good girl. That dress yer holdin’ has been in circulation a long time, it’s not goin’ to fall to pieces in five minutes.’ She smiled at Sadie. ‘How did yer birthday go? Did yer have a good time?’
‘Oh Mary Ann, it was wonderful! I saw more in a couple of hours than I’ve seen in me whole life.’ Sadie talked quickly, conscious of the waiting customer. Her eyes shining, she told of her first trip on the ferry boat, the wonders of the fairground, Harry’s success on the coconut shy and the episode of the candy floss. ‘He’s awful nice, Mary Ann, and I don’t think we stopped laughing all night. And, on top of all that, he bought me a bottle of Californian Poppy.’
‘Ooh, er! Aren’t we swanking! Is he serious about yer?’
‘No, we’re just friends. If his mam knew he was seeing me she’d lay a duck egg. Like everyone else in the street, she hates the Wilson family, me included.’
‘Then she hasn’t got the sense she was born with. She doesn’t know a good thing when she sees one.’ Mary Ann patted her arm. ‘Don’t you take no notice of them, sushine, you’ll come off best in the end, you mark my words. Now, I’d better see to Gertie before she has a heart attack. She’s nearly blue in the face now with shoutin’ at me.’
‘I’ll stay and give yer a hand for a while,’ Sadie said, thinking the less time she spent in the house the better. She hadn’t spoken a word to her father or Dot since Monday night; the very sight of them made her feel sick. If it wasn’t for her two young brothers and Ellen she wouldn’t have opened her mouth at all because her mother didn’t even give her the time of day, and the baby was usually in bed by the time she got home from work. ‘I’m goin’ dancing tonight so I don’t have to leave the house till seven.’
‘Yer certainly livin’ it up these days, what with yer fairgrounds and dancing,’ Mary Ann called over her shoulder. Then, as she advanced towards an irate Gertie she muttered under her breath, ‘The best dance you could do, would be to dance away from that bleedin’ family of yours.’
When it was time to leave, Sadie said, ‘I’m not buying anything else today. I’m starting to do what yer told me to do – put a few coppers away each week. With a bit of luck I can put me whole shilling pocket money away this week. I won’t be able to do that every time, but no matter how little I save, as you said, it’ll all mount up.’
‘Yer didn’t get any extra, then, out of yer rise?’
‘Me mam wouldn’t hear of it. But when our Dot starts work, if she still won’t give me any, I’ll open me wage-packet before I give it to her and take it out meself. I’m not goin’ out to work all week so me dad can sit in the pub every night.’
‘Good for you, girl. Put yer foot down with a firm bleedin’ hand. He’s livin’ the life of Riley while you’re scroungin’ through second-hand clothes – well, I’m buggered if I’d put up with it.’
‘I won’t put up with it much longer, Mary Ann, only till our Dot starts work, and that should be in two weeks’ time ’cos she leaves school next week.’
‘Well, you poppy off now while I serve the few stragglers. Enjoy yerself at the dance an’ I’ll see yer next week. Ta-ra, girl.’ Mary Ann watched until the blonde head had disappeared in the crowd. Then she cursed Sadie’s mother and father for not knowing how lucky they were to have a daughter like her.
Alec was waiting outside the dance hall and his first words were, ‘Have yer got yer new underskirt on?’
Sadie nodded, lifting her skirt just enough for him to catch a glimpse of lace. She hadn’t been able to iron it and it was still very creased, but no one was going to get the chance of seeing that high up. ‘I’m over the moon with it.’
Alec took her arm and led her into the hall. ‘I’ll twirl yer around so everyone will be able to have a dekko.’
‘You just dare! It takes me all me time to walk around, never mind doin’ anything fancy. So if yer try to make a fool of me I’ll walk off the floor and you’ll be the one to look a fool, dancin’ on yer own.’
‘I like a girl with spirit,’ Alec said, paying the entrance fee over and pocketing the tickets for tea and biscuits in the interval. ‘I like them to put up a bit of a struggle.’
‘I should warn yer then that I can put up more than a bit of a struggle,
I’m very handy with me feet.’
Alec grinned. ‘It’s not yer feet I’m after.’
‘No, but it’s me feet yer’ll get if yer try any funny business.’ He’s another George Wilson, this one, Sadie thought. He’ll end up like me dad, a dirty old man. ‘I’ve got a mind of me own, yer know, Alec. If I don’t want anything to happen then it won’t happen.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll be nice to yer.’ Alec groaned inwardly when he saw the girl he’d taken down the entry last week when Sadie had left early. She’d been very free with her favours, practically throwing herself at him. But it was a stupid thing to have done when he knew she’d probably be here tonight. If she came over and said anything in front of Sadie he’d definitely get his marching orders. She was waving frantically now but he pretended not to see her. And when he heard the strains of a waltz he sighed with relief. If he ignored her she’d soon get the message. ‘Shall we dance, Sadie?’
‘Yeah, I can’t wait. I’ve been practising in work with Brenda when we’ve had a slack five minutes and I think I’ve improved. Only a bit, mind you, but at least I won’t be treading on yer toes all night.’
Sadie wasn’t as tense as she’d been the week before and she found it much easier to dance to the tempo with her body relaxed. And when they reached the corner of the dance floor and Alec did a little spin, she was delighted when she didn’t trip over his feet. ‘Ooh, I’m getting good, aren’t I?’
‘Yeah, yer’ll make a good little dancer ’cos yer’ve got the rhythm.’ And she’s got the body to go with it, Alec thought, holding her tightly round the waist. If only she was as free with her favours as the girl last week, he’d be quids in. ‘We’ll have a go at the next quickstep, see how yer get on with that. It’s a bit harder but yer’ve got to learn sometime.’
‘Ooh, er.’ Sadie looked doubtful. ‘I think I should stick to the waltz for now.’